The Progress. [volume] (White Earth, Minn.) 1886-1889, 1887-10-29
KNOWING GOD.

Difference Between the Process of Follow
ing and the Process of Searching-Heart-
Seeking and Finding.
There is a great difference between
knowing God and knowing about God.
Which do you want? TO know God?
or to know about God?
Acustomer applies to you to sell him
goods on credit. You institute in
quiries about him. You ascertain his
standing at the merchants exchange.
You obtain letters of introduction from
his neighbors. You obtain from him a
statement Of his condition and pros
poets. In all this you are learning
about your proposed customer. And
yet you may not know him, may never
meet him, may never even care to meet
him, may be quite satisfied not to know
him, only to learn about him through
Intermediates. You are travelling. You
fall into conversation with a stranger
at your side. The talk begins with the
weather. 1t drifts into politics. into
the labor question, Father McGlynn,
Church, the subject of personal relig-
ion. Before you part you have learned
each others best thoughts and highest
experiences; you have discovered that
You draw your intellectual life from
the same favorite books, that you have
the same great purposes, that your
hopes and fears for your country and
for humanity are the same, that you
both love and worship the same Sa-
viour. You separate without perhaps
even knowing each others names.
You know each other; you know moth
ing about each other.
We know each other sympathetic
cally; we know about each other III
tcllectually.
The child knows tie mother when it
looks up into her face and feels rather
than perceives the mothers love, and
receives but does not understand the
power OF the mothers love, and re-
ceives but does not understand the
power of the mothers personality.
But it does not know about the mother
1t can not fathom her nature, knows
nothing of her problems and perplexi-
ties, her household cares, her wide
reaching plans of love for her children.
She is an empress. What does the
child prattling at her knee know about
imperial problems9 The child
knows the mother, but she does not
know about the mother. Herbert
Spencer is right. God is the Unknown
and the Unknowable. The orthodox
preacher is right. God is the best
known friend in the universe. Herbert
Spencer questions the intellect for its
account of God, and the intellect an
swcrs: II can not tell" He is I'M
fashionable mystery. The preacher
questions the heart, and the heart an
swcrs: 81 will yet praise Him who is
the health of my countenance and my
Cod" The heart knows God. The
intellect does not know about God.
The two processes Of knowing about
God and knowing God are very differ.
ent. The first is a process of following,
the second is a process Of searching. A
scientist stands before fine picture.
He says: Il wish'I could have the ex-
perience of satisfaction and delight in
that picture which my artist friend de.
scribes as his. l will study it, He
examines the canvas to see how it is
made, inquiries into the process by
which the picture was put upon the
canvas, investigates the chemical con.
stituents Of the paint, comprehends its
whole mechanical and laboratory his
tory. At last he says: II know all
about that picture. The artist can tel
me nothing; l can tell him much. AND
still have no such experience as he
describes. 1t is a delusion and asnare.
There is no such picture here as he de.
scribes. There is really but a bit OF
canvas on which is placed in al orderly
and regular manner certain chemical
constituents. | know what they are,
how it is done, all about it. All! wise
scientist, this is not the way to study
art. Science is not art. KNOWING
about is not knowing. Take your can
vas and your brushes and your colors;
attempt to reproduce the picture on
canvas, in doing so the beauty of the
picture will appear to you; its meaning
will be made manifest; you will cease
to study about the picture, you will
study the picture itself. You will come
to know the picture when you cease to
study the picture and attempt to re.
produce it.
You want to know God. You are
spending your time in studying about
God. You are attempting to come to
Him in q wrong way. Colds love; and
only love knows love. You are trying